Equine activities have been utilized as a form of therapy to achieve various physical, psychological, cognitive and behavioral goals. Physical and occupational therapists integrate therapeutic exercise techniques with the movement of the horse to stimulate unused or underused muscles. Horse riding has been found to be particularly beneficial for nonambulatory persons, who have no natural means of locomotion. The action of the horse relaxes and stimulates unused muscles, building muscle tone and improving coordination and balance.
It has been found that a horse's walking action mimics the body action. Thus, when a person is placed on a horse, in order to keep their balance they are forced to move their trunk, arms, shoulders, head and the rest of their body. The horse moves and the rider's muscles move in synchronization with it. A 1988 study published in the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association reported that therapeutic riding improved muscle tone, balance, head control and posture in all children tested. Horse riding can also be an effective tool in assisting physical therapists in the treatment of neurological disorders. During a horse ride, the rider's pelvis moves in a precise pattern that is very similar to a person's pelvic movement during normal human gait. The repetitive input provides the brain with neuro-sensory information necessary for motor re-education.
The neuro-developmental treatment approach teaches that limb function is dependent upon the trunk. To accomplish positive changes within the trunk is challenging using traditional therapy techniques. The horse, however, is able to give repetitive, symmetrical input to the trunk. The movement during a horse ride mobilizes the pelvis, lumbar spine, and hip joints. While riding, equilibrium responses are facilitated and balance, postural muscle strength, and tone improves.
The organized sensory input received during the riding session provides improved body awareness and spatial orientation, while the interaction with the horse has tremendous psychological benefits that play an important role in rehabilitation.
While hippotherapy has proven effective as an initial therapy in regaining balance and improving muscle control, it does not assist a person in retraining their muscles to walk. There are other therapies currently utilized in ambulatory therapy, all of which have basic drawbacks. In one therapeutic method, a pair of parallel bars are utilized to support a person as they begin placing weight on their legs and retrain the legs to move in the appropriate sequence for walking. Another method utilizes a "walker" which again relies on the patient supporting the body and then lifting and moving the walker between steps.
Such ambulatory therapies do not readily teach the appropriate body movement for walking. Rather, they rely on supporting the body with the arms above the ground.